SUMERIAN COPPER 343 
Two daggers from the same tomb from Tell el Ajjul, about 2000 B.c., 
were examined for comparison : 
Copper. Tin. Nickel. Arsenic. Lead. Iron. 
Per Per Per Per Per Per 
cent. cent. cent. cent. cent. cent. 
D. 1552/2197 Dagger . 97°4 — O°I trace — 0°3 
D. 1552/2199 2 uae Sp ee +4 Rene ip ie 
Traces of sulphur were present in the last two. 
These copper objects from Palestine are clearly derived from a different 
source from the Mesopotamian objects. It was therefore of special interest 
to examine samples of ore and slag obtained by Mr. Starkey from the 
Arabah region. The ore, from Wadi Menaieieh, 35 km. north of Akaba, 
proved to be a mixture of malachite and azurite, giving 13-74 per cent. of 
insoluble matter, almost entirely silica, and 38-68 per cent. of copper. No 
tin, arsenic, nickel or lead could be detected. The slag, from Umrashrash 
shore, 5 km. west of Akaba, was a silicate of iron containing some manganese, 
with 4°30 per cent. of copper. There was no tin, nickel, arsenic or lead, 
and the slag is of such a composition that it might well have been produced 
in the smelting of the ore just described. 
Two slags, containing 2-02 and 0°44 per cent. of copper respectively, 
were obtained from sites to the west of Bandar Abbas. Both were silicate 
slags, rich in iron, with no nickel or tin, but a trace of arsenic was detected 
in the first. 
An Early Minoan triangular dagger, found in a tomb at Platana, in Crete, 
was submitted by Mr. O. Davies, and proved to be of bronze : 
Copper . : ; ‘ - 79°02 per cent. 
Tin . ; é 7 ‘ Diagonal ys ohiy 
Nickel ; : ; é eRosrpriiggriiss 
Arsenic . , = , 4 oeWF ole way 
Lead : : ‘ : SQUeOFZOO MATH; 
The presence of both nickel and arsenic, the two key elements in this 
investigation, is interesting. 
_ Two specimens, found by Mr. Mackay at Mohenjo-daro, marked D.K. 
5016, proved to be an ore of copper and a block of metallic lead. ‘The ore 
_ gave: 
. Copper. : : : - 76°15 per cent. 
Tin s : f ; — 
Nickel : : : : ROSA Q ENT Pos 
| Arsenic . : : : SONS. nas Nlsp 
Lead - ; F 3 2 trace 
} Sulphur . 4 5 4 HT h.,  V5y 
Insoluble matter : ; of AS OON Sani 45 
; This would be an easily smelted ore. The lead, after removing a thin 
{ crust of sulphate, was found to contain 99°70 per cent. of the metal, with 
only 0-05 per cent. of copper and a trace of silver. Such a metal must have 
_ been smelted from a very pure ore. 
Miss Winifred Lamb submitted a large number of specimens from her 
excavations at Thermi, Lesbos. These will appear, with those previously 
{ reported to the Committee, in her forthcoming report on the site. Almost 
_ pure copper and true bronze are found irrespectively of the levels, and both 
Brickel and arsenic are frequently present, the latter occasionally to ‘the extent 
“of I or 2 per cent. Further specimens are under examination before 
"attempting a complete classification. 
f 
